Wordbook
by 0Enidan0
Summary: A series of (usually) unconnected 100-word drabbles incorporating a Word of the Day theme. Both alternate and canon universes. Ulquihime.
1. Amain

So, I've had the idea to do this type of fic for a while to improve my vocabulary and force me to communicate a concept with minimal language. I am using Dictionary dot com's Word of the Day e-mails starting from March 19, 2015. I am going to try to go in order, no matter how random or archaic the word. I got this idea from BelovedDawn's story "Word of the Day." She writes great Kunzite/Minako fanfics for all you Shittenou/Senshi shippers. For those of you reading "Libélula," please be patient with me. I'm sort of in a writer's block on that one. "Wordbook" will have way more fluff than anything I've ever written so far on Ulquihime. Some of these might be borrowed from concepts in my other fics. Heck, I may even add other couples in. Anyway, without further ado. I dearly acknowledge Tite Kubo for his compelling characters.

 **Amain**

 _Archaic_. with full force.

* * *

Casting aside any remnant of pride, Orihime stepped into Ulquiorra's path and met his stare.

"Because of _you_ ," she said again in a softer tone.

He inquired after her return. Five years ago they'd met. Four years ago she'd confessed, and it had taken him three years to accept it. But even with his acknowledgement, the past year was so replete with frustration that Orihime left for university in Europe.

For a moment, his eyes betrayed relief. That's all she needed. She hurled herself at him in a fierce embrace and held amain, refusing him the ability to refuse her.


	2. Anthesis

I dearly acknowledge Tite Kubo for his compelling characters.

 **Anthesis:** _1\. Botany. the period or act of expansion in flowers, especially the maturing of the stamens._

* * *

"What do you mean?" Ulquiorra asked.

"Well…I've loved learning about anthesis the most. So many wonderful pictures of blooming flowers!"

He only blinked, keeping his eyes on the studying materials between them. _My photographs are generally useful._

"Did you take these?" she asked.

"Yes. Part of my doctoral research."

"They're lovely."

It was her tone that surprised him. He finally looked up at Orihime, even more surprised to find her staring at his eyes.

"Can I have one?"

"A photo?"

She nodded.

"Yes. I can bring it next week."

"Thank you," she smiled, a shade of rose coloring her cheeks.


	3. Mal de Mer

This one can theoretically occur in the Libélulaverse. Dearest acknowledgement to Tite Kubo for his compelling characters.

 **Mal de mer**

 _1\. French. seasickness._

* * *

For training that day, Ulquiorra and Orihime found themselves on a sailboat atop hollow-made seawaters. But within the hour, Orihime succumbed to a fit of mal de mer so acute that it required carrying her back.

With Orihime now lying on her couch, he turned to go find assistance. But she caught his hand.

"Thank you for your attentiveness."

He considered responding, but it would only engage her. So he simply removed his hand from her feeble grasp and departed.

It wasn't until her door shut firmly behind him that he released a breath he didn't realize he was holding.


	4. Gibber

I tip my hat to Tite Kubo for his compelling characters.

 **Gibber**

 _1\. to speak inarticulately or meaninglessly._

 _2\. to speak foolishly; chatter._

* * *

"She's less talkative?" Aizen asked Ulquiorra. They were meeting for a status report on Orihime. "Why?"

"I suspect…" Ulquiorra started. It was an uncomfortable, complicated matter Ulquiorra was still untangling. Truthfully, her constant gibbering ceased because of the aftermath of her confession last week. Wisely, she had not confessed aloud. As it was, Ulquiorra was only required to report measurable observations to Aizen.

"…because she is losing confidence in her circumstances."

A technical truth. It seemed to satisfy Aizen.

After his dismissal, Ulquiorra headed straight to his chambers and thought of nothing but Orihime.

And his first lie to Aizen.


	5. Nonevent

A dear acknowledgement to Tite Kubo for his compelling characters.

 **Nonevent:** _a dull or insignificant occasion._

* * *

"It was nothing to him," Orihime said, her tone soft.

"I can't believe he went through all that trouble!" yelped Lilynette.

"When I mentioned my food allergies, he sent someone to ask me for recipes. But…a lot of the ingredients are local to Karakura. I don't know how he got them without starting a war."

So touched was Orihime that she cried when they'd presented her favorite dish. Naturally, Ulquiorra treated it as a nonevent. He merely spun on his heel and left.

 _A little too natural?_ Orihime dared to think. Her heart could only flutter at the implications.


	6. Furtherance

My dearest acknowledgement to Tite Kubo for his compelling characters.

 **Furtherance**

1\. _1._ _the act of furthering; promotion; advancement._

* * *

Taking a break from a trail, Detective Schiffer stood at the edge of a precipice overlooking the sea at sunset—an effort to clear his frustrated mind. He'd made little progress on the woman's case these past months. She'd approached him as a last resort. As the supreme sleuth this side of Asia, his fees served as proof.

But for the first time, the mystery seemed unsolvable. Daily reports of murders evidenced furtherance of an assassin's goals.

A familiar shade of orange—one of recent acquaintance—colored the skies, and he resolved to find the murderer of the woman's brother.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_ Meh, I'm not satisfied with this as I think it breaks character, but this would theoretically be under the context of a larger story.


	7. Dendrochronology

This particular snippet is connected to the _anthesis_ chapter. It was too easy of a plot not to use. On a side note, if you would be interested in being a beta for Libelula, please let me know. I am badly in need of one. I would prefer someone with solid grammar skills and who is familiar with the Bleach plot up until the Karakura Town arc. I hope that doesn't sound too stuck-up, but I am very particular about my grammar and, well, it helps if you know your Bleach! Anyway, as always, I dearly acknowledge Tite Kubo for his compelling characters.

 _Dendrochronology_

1\. the science dealing with the study of the annual rings of trees in determining the dates and chronological order of past events.

* * *

"The drill," Orihime squeaked, placing the tool before her T.A.

Misplaced for weeks, the drill was a standard tool for sampling tree rings in usual dendrochronology fashion. Her sharp eyes discovered it in a forgotten corner of the botany lab.

Ulquiorra glanced at it, then at her. Her stomach flipped when his piercing gaze lingered, but he gave no word of thanks.

As she turned to leave, his voice startled her.

"You've shown some competence. The board will receive a fitting review of you."

She mumbled her appreciation and scurried out before he could see scarlet emerging on her cheeks.


	8. Forsooth

Author's Note: This one was reeeeally tough. This is the only way I could think to write it. I suck at poetry. Lol. I own nothing, save for the plot. And crappy poem. And even the poem was taken from a concept I saw on Tumblr.

 **Forsooth**

1\. _Archaic_. in truth; in fact; indeed.

* * *

Ulquiorra peered into the old book he'd found—one humans rarely studied anymore.

.

 _For she is a beauty forsooth,_

 _Eyes of amber deep,_

 _Bewitching, captivating_

 _Binding as the eternal rays of the sun_

 _When death beckons nightly,_

 _Beckons from the moon—_

.

Ulquiorra scoffed at the nonsense, and at himself for entertaining even a word.

"You found one!" Orihime screeched at him. "Oh, you have no idea how much I've missed reading!"

Ulquiorra, marginally disgusted, tossed it on the table before her.

But Orihime flashed him the brightest smile he'd ever seen. It was raw. Grateful.

Her eyes of amber glistened.


	9. Cantillate

Alas, Bleach is almost over. About time. In my view, it should have ended after the Karakura Town arc. Anyway, I acknowledge Kubo. I don't own the characters.

 **Cantillate:**

 _1._ _To chant; intone_

* * *

Insufferable.

He wanted out. _Now_. Ulquiorra tapped his foot on the floor, unwittingly having picked a seat next to a woman with auburn hair. She was in hysterics.

The priest, cantillating something in Latin, even shot his eyes at the blubbering woman for a brief moment.

Ulquiorra was about to turn to complain to her, but she surprised him by placing her hand on his arm.

"Forgive me. She was like my sister," she cried.

He opted to say nothing after he saw an old photograph in her other hand.

He could suffer the remaining 30 minutes of the service.


	10. Pepper-upper

Dearest acknowledgment to Tite Kubo. This fic occurs the Libélulaverse...kinda. This isn't really a spoiler, just a theoretical spinoff scenario.

 **Pepper-upper**

 _Informal. Something added to food to relieve blandness._

* * *

"Do I smell basil in these cookies?"

Orihime beamed at her boss, Makoto. "You have a great nose! I thought it would make a nice pepper-upper!"

Makoto took a cookie and bit into it. "Not bad…a little dry, but that's fixable."

"Really?! Oh, I just _love—_ "

A jingling of bells stopped Orihime in mid-sentence. Someone walked into the shop.

Rather, _he_ walked in.

Three days ago, he was supposed to have left for Hueco Mundo permanently. The new basil cookies were her pathetic attempt at distraction.

As Ulquiorra's eyes locked on hers, the tray nearly fell from her hands.


	11. Globular

Tippin' my head to Mr. Kubo for letting me borrow his characters. This snippet takes place in the Libélulaverse.

 **Globular**

1\. globe-shaped; spherical.

* * *

"Try one!" Orihime cried, holding a small round ball between her fingers.

Ulquiorra glanced at her hand, then her face.

" _Please_. I worked really hard on these. They're little chocolate bites!"

"I know what chocolate looks like."

She angled her head and asked, "You've never had chocolate, have you?"

"I have never needed it."

She lowered the globular treat in her hand, gazing at him with a curious twinkle in her eye. She said to him softly, "I…made them all for you. Please."

She'd spent hours in the kitchen, for him? He only looked at her wordlessly, reconsidering her offer.


	12. Funambulist

Thanks to Kubo-sama for letting me borrow his characters.

 _Funambulist_

1\. tightrope walker

* * *

Until now, Orihime never questioned the scope of Ulquiorra's indifference. She'd understood it superficially, of course, the day she met him in Karakura Town.

But there were limits to it.

This was the first time she'd noticed it. When she spoke of Kurosaki.

Ulquiorra's cold stare turned icy, and his words cut short. Then, as if he'd caught the waver in his own tone, his eyes flashed. Before long, his back was to her like a funambulist, both in his physical turning and in the thin, seemingly dispassionate line upon which he walked.

Then he left her without another glance.


	13. Paramnesia

Thank you to Tite Kubo for his compelling characters. Libéulaverse.

 _paramnesia_

1\. Psychiatry. a distortion of memory in which fact and fantasy are confused.

* * *

He didn't object. He didn't object. He didn't _object_.

Orihime lay on her back and stared at the ivory ceiling in her quarters. She twirled her hair around an index finger and bit her lip.

She'd told him just a few hours ago of her feelings. Ulquiorra just…

Looked at her.

He didn't object.

Her stomach flip-flopped.

Was this real? Did he really tolerate what she'd told him? Or was her observation the first sign of paramnesia?

But the _way_ he didn't object…he'd just stared. Pensively.

Months ago, he would have admonished her.

Today, he let her be.

He didn't…object.


End file.
